Around a dozen communities across the country have launched campaigns to get rid of their investor-owned electric utilities — the for-profit companies that distribute electricity to three-quarters of U.S. households — and replace them with publicly owned ones. Calling their goal “public power,” advocates argue that existing utilities have saddled customers with high rates and frequent outages, while lobbying to delay rooftop solar and other climate policies. Advocates say local ownership of the power grid would lead to lower electric bills, a quicker transition to renewables, and greater accountability to customers. Publicly owned utilities are far from new. Across the country, around 2,000 consumer-owned utilities serve more than 50 million customers, in places like Sacramento, Long Island, and the entire state of Nebraska. Unlike investor-owned utilities, public utilities don’t pay dividends to shareholders and have access to tax-exempt, low-interest municipal bonds. Supporters say the benefits of public power are wide ranging. Customers served by publicly owned utilities often have smaller electric bills — on average about $15 lower per month than with an investor-owned utility, according to the American Public Power Association. They also tend to experience more reliable service than investor-owned utility customers, with on average about half the annual duration of interrupted power.